


Questions of Faith

by Nicnac



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Character Study, M/M, Reverse Omens au, Romance, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 14:18:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20676788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicnac/pseuds/Nicnac
Summary: Anthony was the strangest angel





	Questions of Faith

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posted on [tumblr](https://nicnacsnonsense.tumblr.com/post/187778959302/questions-of-faith)

Anthony was the strangest angel. 

From the Beginning - and possibly before, but Zira hadn’t known him then - he asked questions. Not just questions, but Questions about God and the Great Plan. (“I don’t blame you, demon. Not very subtle of the Almighty, was it? Fruit tree in the middle of a garden with a ‘Don't Touch’ sign. I mean, why not put it on the top of a high mountain? Or on the moon? Makes you wonder what God's planning.”)

The second time they ran into each other - third if one counted the time out in front of the ark as a separate incident - Anthony was actively disobeying God’s orders. Zira could barely do more than stare, gaped-mouth and incredulous, as Anthony sat there passing a basket of bread around his group of at least thirty stowaways. (“Saving the children. Honestly, what does it look like I’m doing?”)

Those were the first times, but they were far from the last. It seemed like Anthony was always questioning, always being just a little disobedient. 

But by far the strangest thing about the angel was the way he always seemed to be there. Whenever Zira was in trouble, Anthony would swoop in to save him. Even when he wasn’t in trouble, Anthony still had a habit of showing up. He would show up with little trinkets or scrumptious delectables or rare tomes for Zira. He would show up when Zira had found a new restaurant he wanted to try or a new show he wanted to see. He had come up with the whole idea for the Arrangement which seemed largely an excuse to be lazy, but did result in the two of them seeing each other much more often. And then there was the one evening walking through another garden with the smell of night-blooming jessamine thick in the air, when Anthony took Zira’s hand with both of his own. (“You do know, don’t you, demon?” He had been so bright and so beautiful, and Zira has pulled his hand back and looked away. Anthony’s smile had faltered. “Well, as long as you know.”)

The trouble was Zira did know. He knew why Anthony always showed up, why he always looked at Zira in just such a way, but Zira couldn’t allow it to go further than that. It wasn’t just the thought of possible reprisals from Heaven and Hell if they found out. It was this: Anthony questioned like Zira had questioned, wanting to know why the Great Plan needed to hold so much suffering. Anthony disobeyed like Zira had disobeyed, throwing down his sword and refusing to be a part of fighting his brothers. Zira had Fallen. Anthony had not. Not yet. And Zira refused to be the thing that tipped the scales, refused to be the one to taint Anthony past the point of no return. He would not be the one to make Anthony Fall. 

And yet…

Zira asked him about it once, a few days after the Apocalypse didn’t happen. Anthony’s head was in Zira’s lap, and Zira had long since given up even the pretense of reading. Now that the two of them were no longer beholden to Heaven or Hell, Zira could not resist the temptation of running his fingers through the gleaming ruby curls spilled across his legs. Anthony smiled up at him as he did, his eyes lazy, warm, and full of emotion. 

“What I don’t understand, my dear, is how you managed it. Over six thousand years of constantly questioning and disobeying the Almighty, and yet here you remain, unfallen.”

“Oh, demon.” Anthony took Zira’s free hand in his and kissed the back of it. “That’s not how faith works. I question because God gave me the desire to understand even when I know I can’t. I disobey because God gave me the drive to do what I think is right regardless of what anyone tells me. She gave me these gifts, and I believe using them is inherently in Her service. Besides…” 

He looked up at Zira, his eyes lazy, warm, and absolutely spilling over with love. Love as deep as the sea, as reaching as the farthest star, as large as eternity. He loved, and Zira’s cracked and burnt self rose to meet it with every beat of his foolish heart. 

“Besides?” he prompted, his voice choked with emotion and need. 

Anthony’s smile was as lazy and warm as his eyes. He sat up, but Zira didn’t have even a moment to mourn the loss of him before he had repositioned himself astride Zira’s lap. “Besides,” he said. He placed a gentle kiss on Zira’s lips and then rested their foreheads together, his arms on Zira’s shoulders. “How could I lose faith in a God that gave me the magnificent gift of you?”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are treasured!


End file.
